Pallet



Jan. 11, 1966 J. J. SEPE ETAL PALLET 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 30,1964 JOHN J. 65195 Tb/4N i3. NATfiL/C/O I NV ENTORS ATTORNEY Jan. 11,1966 J. J. SEPE ET AL 3,228,358

PALLET Filed 001:. 30, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 JOHN J. SEPE JOHN C.NATALIc/O INVENTORS Z/AMTW ATTORNEY Jan. 11, 1966 J. .1. SEPE ETALPALLET 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct, 30, 1964 VENTORS 56 JOHN J. SEPE JOHNC. nn p u o Z/vzm W AT T02 N EV Jan. 11, 1966 J. J. SEPE ETAL 3,228,358

PALLET 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 30, 1964 JOHN J. SEPE JZJHH C.NflTAL/c/O INVENTORS a/umw.

AT TOQHEY United States Patent 3,228,358 PALLET John J. Sepe, Glendale,and John C, Natalicio, Granada Hills, Califi, assignors to Rocket JetEngineering Corp., Glendale, Califi, a corporation of Delaware FiledOct. 30, 1964, Ser. No. 407,659 4 Claims. (Cl. 108-58) This inventionrelates to pallets formed of a single sheet of material. It isespecially suited to pallets made from sheet plastic, and will be sodescribed hereinafter.

It is an object of this invention to provide pallet designs such thatfrom a single sheet of material, e.g. sheet plastic, havingsubstantially uniform thickness, a pallet may be formed having verylight weight with high load capacity.

It is another object of this invention to provide such a design thatidentical pallets may readily be nested for stacking, thereby occupyinga minimum of storage and transportation space.

It is another object of this invention to provide a pallet designwhereby high load capacity pallets may be made very cheaply, therebypermitting of one-time use and subsequent throw-away if desired.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparenthereinafter, preferred forms of the present invention will now bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view looking down on a first form of pallet.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are sectional views taken on the correspondinglynumbered section lines in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view looking down on a second form of pallet.

FIG. 8 is a top plan of view thereof.

FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12 are sectional views taken on the correspondinglynumbered section lines in FIG. 8.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a first form of palletconstructed of a single sheet of material 16, generally rectangular inshape. The present pallet design is particularly suited for the use ofsheets of plastic material and will be described with that material inmind. The sheet 16 is substantially uniform throughout its thickness andis dimpled downwardly to form a series of depressions as illustrated inFIG. 1. The dimpling may be done by dies, of the match metal, vacuum orpressure forming type. The longitudinal depressions may be formed duringan initial extrusion step, if desired.

Primarily, there are longitudinal rows 17, 18, and 19 of dimpledelongate depressions, represented for example by the depression 21 (FIG.2 and The depressions have a depth shown by the dimension 22 (FIG. 5)and constitute legs, the bottoms 23 of which are adapted to rest on afloor. The depressions have sloping side walls and sloping end walls,typified by the walls 24 (FIG. 5) and 26 (FIG. 3), respectively. Thismakes possible the ready nesting of one pallet into another, so that alarge number of pallets may be nested and stacked with occupancy ofminimum space.

The depressions do not extend the entire length of the rows, 17, 18, 19,but instead are composed of discrete, elongate, aligned depressions,defined by end walls exemplified by the walls 26. In the examples shown,the depressions 27 and 28, at the end of each row, are of shorter lengththan are the intermediate depressions represented in this case by legdepression 21. The discrete leg depressions of each given row areconnected by aligned elongate depressions 29 and 31, which are shallowerand narrower than the leg depressions. Referring, by way of example, tothe depression 29 (FIG. 6), it will be seen that it is onlyapproximately one-third of the 3,228,358 Patented Jan. 11 1966 depth ofa leg depression, thus spacing it well above the floor. Hence, thepallet contacts the floor only at its legs, the purpose of the shallowdepressions being to strengthen the pallet against bending moments inboth directions. Like the leg depressions, the strengthening depressionsare tapered to permit nesting. It will be noted that the bottom or floorof the discrete leg depressions in the center row 18 is appreciablywider than the bottom of the depressions in the side rows 17 and 18.This is desirable to insure a wider bearing area for roller conveyers,where a narrow leg bottom might wedge between adjacent rollers.

The depressions at each end of the outer rows 17 and 19 have right angleportions which form L-shaped legs at each corner of the pallet, asexemplified by the corner leg depression 32. From each right angleportion extends a strengthening depression 33 which is transverse to therows 17, 18, and 19, and located adjacent each end of the pallet. Itwill be seen that these depressions likewise are shallow and connect tothe adjacent end legs 27 of the intermediate row 18.

The portions of the sheet 16 intermediate the rows 17, 13, and 19, andexemplified by the portion 34, constitute a platform portion of thepallet on which a load is adapted to rest. This platform portion isinterlaced by a plurality of additional strengthening depressions, whichare likewise elongate and are shallower and narrower than the legdepressions. These platform strengthening depressions are exemplified bythe transverse depressions 36 and 37. The depressions 36 do notcommunicate with any other depression; but the central depression 37extends through at each end to communicate with the leg depressions 21and 38.

Intermediate the transverse strengthening depressions 36 and 37 andapproximately mid-way of the length thereof, are a series of elongatebut shorter strengthening depressions 41 which serve to furtherstrengthen the pallets against longitudinal bending moments.

The spaces beneath the platform portion 34 and between the legdepressions constitute channels for the insertion of a fork lift. A forkmay be inserted from either side of the pallet through the channels 46(FIG. 3) or may be inserted from either end of the pallet through thechannels 47 (FIG. 5).

When thus lifted by a fork lift truck, that portion of the load which isnot directly above the tines imposes bending moments on the pallet aboutaxes parallel to the forks. The design of the pallet above described issuch that it will adequately resist high bending moments, even thoughthere is no inherent lateral support in the load itself. Thus, it is notnecessary with this pallet to overlie the platform with a strengtheningfloor, such as a floor of plywood or chipboard, because the palletitself has high resistance to bending in both planes.

Another form of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 7-12. Thispallet consists of a sheet of material 51 having parallel rows 52, 53,and 54 of dimpled leg depressions. Each row consists, in this example,of three discrete leg depressions 56, 57, and 58, the first being anelongate central depression, the latter two being shorter enddepressions. These three discrete leg depressions are separated byrespective end wall portions 59 (FIG. 7) joined by a narrow horizontalportion 61, which is at the level of, and constitutes a portion of, aplatform portion of the pallet. Transverse of the rows 5254 arestrengthening depressions 62, which are narrower and shallower than theleg depressions. Four of these depressions, numbered 63, which arealigned with the narrow linking platform portions 61, have tapering endwalls 64 where they join the wall portions 59, 61. The strengtheningdepressions, 63, while markedly shallower than the leg depression, aresomewhat deeper than the strengthening depressions 62.

The pallet shown in FIG. 7 is likewise capable of snug nesting by virtueof the tapered or sloping nature of all of the depression wall-s.

As will be readily seen in FIG. 8 the bottom of the central legdepressions 66 is wider, approximately two times, than the bottom of thetwo leg depressions 56 at each side of the pallet.

To strengthen the edge of the pallet a small lip 67 is upturned aroundthe four sides.

The pallet shown in FIG. 7 is adapted to be made of a somewhat thinnersheet than the pallet shown in FIG. 1. As such, it is more susceptibleto bending when not supported by all of its legs, as on a floor. Forthis reason the lip 67 is provided to form a seat rim for astrengthening sheet or floor such as of plywood or chipboard.

The pallet of FIG. 7 is readily adapted for lifting by a fork lift truckfrom either end, by insertion of the forks in the longitudinal channels69. The transverse channels 71 are not suitable for insertion of mostfork lifts, but they do serve as a very convenient recess to accommodatea band, as of wire, rope, or flat metal, by means of which a load may besecurely clamped to the pallet.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in whatis conceived to be the most prac tical and preferred embodiments, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosedherein, but is to be afforded the full scope of the invention ashereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. Pallet formed of a single sheet of material of substantially uniformthickness throughout,

said sheet having a plurality of parallel rows of elongate legdepressions constituting pallet legs, the bottom portions of said legsbeing adapted to rest on a floor,

said rows including an outer row at one side of the sheet, an outer rowat the other side of the sheet and at least one intermediate rowtherebetween,

the end depression on each end of said outer rows being located adjacentrespective corners of said sheet, each end depression having a rightangle portion forming an L-shaped leg at each corner,

each of said rows including longitudinal strengthening depressions oflesser depth than said leg depressions and communicating between legdepressions, said strengthening depressions and leg depressions beingsubstantially identically spaced in each row to thereby provide lateralchannels across the pallet for acceptance of the fork of a lift truck inthe area of said strengthening depressions,

said sheet having elongate strengthening depressions transverse of saidrows at each end of said sheet and communicating with the adjacent rightangle leg depressions,

the portion of said sheet intermediate said rows constituting a platformportion on which a load is adapted to rest, said sheet having aplurality of elongate strengthening depressions in the platform portionthereof, of lesser depth than said leg depressions and serving tofurther strengthen the pallet,

and

said elongate strengthening depressions arranged as isolated channels, afirst direction channel bridging laterally between said longitudinalstrengthening depressions of each pair and stopping short ofinterconnecting therewith, and two longitudinal channels extending inthe same general direction as said longitudinal strengtheningdepressions and positioned one on either side of each said firstdirection channel and stopping short of interconnecting therewith,whereby said pallet is divided into area regions having strengtheningribs longitudinally of the lifting forks of a lift truck, and laterallythereof.

2. Pallet in accordance with claim 1 wherein said last namedstrengthening depressions include a central row of depressions extendingacross the pallet from a central leg depression of one outer row to acentral leg depression of the other outer row.

3. Pallet formed of a single sheet of material of substantially uniformthickness throughout,

said sheet having a plurality of parallel rows of elon gate legdepressions constituting pallet legs, the bottom portions of said legsbeing adapted to rest on a floor,

said rows including an outer row at one side of the sheet, an outer rowat the other side of the sheet, and at least one intermediate rowtherebetween thus dividing said pallet into rectangular sections,

the end depressions on each end of said outer rows being relativelyshort and located at respective corners of said sheet, the remainder ofeach said outer row being constituted of a single elongate legdepression,

the portion of said sheet intermediate said rows constituting a platformportion on Which a load is adapted to rest, said sheet having aplurality of elongate strengthening depressions in the platform portionthereof, transverse of said rows, one at each end of the pallet, oflesser depth than said leg depressions, and communicating with adjacentleg depressions thereby to strengthen the pallet transversely, and aplurality of short discrete strengthening depressions arranged betweenlongitudinal rows and substantially parallel with said end elongatestrengthening depressions, said short channels stopping short ofinterconnecting with any other depression, and longitu dinal channelsextending in the same general direction as said plurality of parallelrows of elongate leg dcpressions and positioned one on either side ofeach of said short lateral depressions and stopping short ofinterconnecting with any other depression,

whereby, said pallet is divided into area regions with a support leg ateach corner, thereby providing channels for the insertion of a fork liftin two directions across each region and with a strengthening ribchannel extending in each direction.

4. Pallet in accordance with claim 3 wherein each row of leg depressionincludes a relatively short leg depression at each end and a singlerelatively long leg depression intermediate the end depressions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,797,874 3/1931Millray 10851 2,463,214 3/1949 Stoner 10858 X 2,615,661 10/1952 Cushman108-52 2,991,965 7/1961 Drieborg 10858 3,120,825 2/1964 Johnson 108513,140,672 6/1964 De Luca 10853 References Cited by the Applicant FOREIGNPATENTS 696,214 8/ 1953 Great Britain.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

1. PALLET FORMED OF A SINGLE SHEET OF MATERIAL OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMTHICKNESS THROUGHOUT, SAID SHEET HAVING A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL ROWS OFELONGATE LEG DEPRESSIONS CONSTITUTING PALLET LEGS, THE BOTTOM PORTIONSOF SAID LEGS BEING ADAPTED TO REST ON A FLOOR, SAID ROWS INCLUDING ANOUTER ROW AT ONE SIDE OF THE SHEET, AN OUTER ROW AT THE OTHER SIDE OFTHE SHEET AND AT LEAST ONE INTERMEDIATE ROW THEREBETWEEN, THE ENDDEPRESION ON EACH END OF SAID OUTER ROWS BEING LOCATED ADJACENTRESPECTIVE CORNERS OF SAID SHEET, EACH END DEPRESSION HAVING A RIGHTANGLE PORTION FORMING AN L-SHAPED LEG AT EACH CORNER, EACH OF SAID ROWSINCLUDING LONGITUDINAL STRENGTHENING DEPRESSIONS OF LESSER DEPTH THENSAID LEG DEPRESSIONS AND COMMUNICATING BETWEEN LEG DEPRESSIONS, SAIDSTRENGTHENING DEPRESSIONS AND LEG DEPRESSIONS BEING SUBSTANTIALLYIDENTICALLY SPACED IN EACH ROW TO THEREBY PROVIDE LATERAL CHANNELSACROSS THE PALLET FOR ACCEPTANCE OF THE FORK OF A LIFT TRUCK IN THE AREAOF SAID STRENGTHENING DEPRESSIONS, SAID SHEET HAVING ELONGATEDSTRENGTHENING DEPRESSIONS TRANSVERSE OF SAID ROWS AT EACH END OF SAIDSHEET AND COMMUNICTING WITH THE ADJACENT RIGHT ANGLE LEG DEPRESSIONS,THE PORTION OF SAID SHEET INTERMEDIATE SAID ROWS CONSTITUTING A PLATFORMPORTION ON WHICH A LOAD IS ADAPTED TO REST, SAID SHEET HAVING APLURALITY OF ELONGATE STRENGTHENING DEPRESSION IN THE PLATFORM PORTIONTHEREOF, OF LESSER DEPTH THAN SAID LEG DEPRESSIONS AND SERVING TOFURTHER STRENGTHEN THE PALLET, AND SAID ELONGATE STRENGTHENINGDEPRESSION ARRANGED AS ISOLATED CHANNELS, A FIRST DIRECTION CHANNELBRIDGING LATERALLY BETWEEN SAID LONGITUDINAL STRENGTHENING DEPRESSIONSOF EACH PAIR AND STOPPING SHORT OF INTERCONNECTING THEREWITH, AND TWOLONGITUDINAL CHANNELS EXTENDING IN THE SAME GENERAL DIRECTION AS SAIDLONGITUDINAL STRENGTHENING DEPRESSIONS AND POSITIONED ONE ON EITHER SIDEOF EACH SAID FIRST DIRECTION CHANNEL AND STOPPING SHORT OFINTERCONNECTING THEREWITH, WHEREBY SAID PALLET IS DIVIDED INTO AREAREGIONS HAVING STRENGTHENING RIBS LONGITUDINALLY OF THE LIFTING FORKS OFA LIFT TRUCK, AND LATERALLY THEREOF.